Keeping watch in Hanover Twp.

Congratulations to the Hanover Township citizens and police department, which came together this week to form the Hanover Township Neighborhood Watch.

There have been efforts, many unsuccessful, over the years to create crime watches in the many sections of Hanover Township, a large, 20-square-mile community of more than 11,000 people.

This latest attempt appears to have a sound footing; the police department and local government are supportive.

Perhaps even more promising was the attendance of Wilkes-Barre and Ashley crime watch members at Hanover Township's launch session. Crime knows no municipal boundaries and police officers and people on hand shared experiences that stretched across Wyoming Valley and even into other states.

Ashley Crime Watch invited everyone to attend its next meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14 at St. Leo's/Holy Rosary Church hall, Manhattan Street, Ashley. State Sen. John Yudichak, who has been a leader in the anti-gang struggle, will speak. Hanover Township Neighborhood Watch meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16 at the American Legion home, Lee Park. Future meetings will be held in other sections of the township.

A successful Hanover Township crime watch can be pivotal in the war on drug trafficking and gangs. Hanover Township sits between Wilkes-Barre and Nanticoke, two of the four cities in Luzerne County, and major highways crisscross the community. The township's police have been active participants in the multi-level, attorney general-led task force that has netted dozens of drug dealers.

Even more pivotal will be the interaction of citizens in the various communities as they observe and report suspicious activity, especially as it relates to drugs, gangs and graffiti. The advice given by Hanover Township officers at the new crime watch's session applies to all citizens: Be alert, call 911 when you see criminal activity, don't put yourself in harm's way and be patient as police investigate. Sometimes what the citizen sees and reports are only a piece of a larger criminal enterprise. It can take time before arrests are made.

Wilkes-Barre's long-standing crime watch and the new kids on the block can have a positive impact as citizens step up to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods, towns and the entire county.

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